NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Health care workers across the river from Louisville rolled up their sleeves to receive an added new layer of protection Friday.
It wasn’t your typical drive-thru. Health care workers on the front lines at
Dianne Williams, a day shift charge nurse at Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany, Indiana says, ”I feel like it’s the first time I’ve done something positive against the illness.”
After working on the frontlines for months during the pandemic, Williams received her first dose of the new vaccine.
“Very challenging. Trying to do the best care when you’ve got no one to really turn to, you’re in those rooms by yourself,” explains Williams.
Williams has been overseeing and providing care to some of the sickest COVID-19 patients. “They can’t breathe, their brains aren’t working correctly, they’re very ill, she explains.
She says the approval of the vaccine marked a turning point. “There has been anything to help it until now. So, I signed up the minute I got the email on Sunday and decided I was getting the vaccine,” says Williams.
As coronavirus infections continue to surge, she says this is an important step in protecting health care workers from the virus.
“I’m not young and it would hit me hard, but I feel like I could fight it, but the thing is I don’t want to. I don’t want to be ill and if this going to prevent it I’ll do it,” adds Williams.
975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were delivered to the hospital as part of Phase 1 of vaccination distribution. The hospital system is charged with immunizing health care workers from Floyd, Harrison, and Washington counties in Indiana.
Dr. Vasdev Lohano an endocrinologist at the hospital, tells Spectrum News 1, ”Almost every day or every other day I get a notice that somebody has died. These people were not in that state to die. These are not the people that you expect them to die like elderly, terminal people.”
Lohano believes the vaccine to be the light at the end of the tunnel.
“This is incredible work that people have done at all these companies and of course these scientists. I mean this is amazing," he said.
Frontline workers alike are hopeful that others will follow their lead once the vaccine is widely available.
“The bigger message here is that I believe in science. I believe this is a real thing, and I want to make sure my patients know that so they get that, believing that if I’m doing it then they’ll do it so they can protect themselves,” explains Dr. Lohano.
“You need to get the vaccine. I mean it’s no reason to take a risk with anybody’s life. I think 94% effective. I’m happy with 94 out of 100,” adds Williams.
Baptist Health Floyd anticipates 216 workers would be vaccinated by the end of the day.